Perfect Eight by Reema Moudgil is a haunting story of someone born to parents who are totally opposite in what life has dished out to them.
The protagonist’s mother is a refugee from Pakistan who came to India at the age of 5, brought up grudgingly by a family friend. Ever sensitive of her position in the lives of people around her, her outlook of life is rather grim. She never trusts happiness when it finds its way to her.
Her father, on the other hand, is a very cheerful guy who can sing a happy song at any given situation.
The story is also about her love for Samir, the boy whom she sees periodically during her stays in Anneville, his home.
The story travels easily from Pakistan to Kanpur to Ambrosa to Bangalore… The narration never loses pace even for a paragraph…
I think revealing the protagonist’s name in the last page of the book is a stroke of a genius!
The characters in the book, their pain, longing, happiness… everything is so real.
The language is lucid & poetic…. really touched a chord in me. (Imagine if one can smell grief!)
Loved reading this book & I reccommend it strongly to people who love reading Indian authors.
One of the best books I’ve read in a long time!
